Dick’s Sporting Goods, a nationwide retailer of sporting goods and firearms, announced Wednesday it will no longer sell assault-looking rifles, or firearms to anyone under 21, and it will also no longer sell high-capacity magazines.
We deeply believe that this country’s most precious gift is our children. They are our future. We must keep them safe. Beginning today, DICK’S Sporting Goods is committed to the following: https://t.co/J4OcB6XJnu pic.twitter.com/BaTJ9LaCYe
— DICK’S Sporting Goods (@DICKS) February 28, 2018
In a series of tweets posted Wednesday morning, the company cited the Parkland school shooting on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, and told the nation that “thoughts are prayers” are not enough when it comes to gun control.
“We support and respect the Second Amendment, and we recognize and appreciate that the vast majority of gun owners in this country are responsible, law-abiding citizens. But we have to help solve the problem that’s right in front of us,” the company said in a statement.
We at DICK’S Sporting Goods are deeply disturbed and saddened by the tragic events in Parkland. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims and their loved ones. https://t.co/J4OcB6XJnu pic.twitter.com/WmT50BO7mx
— DICK’S Sporting Goods (@DICKS) February 28, 2018
“Gun violence is an epidemic that’s taking the lives of too many people, including the brightest hope for the future of America – our kids,” the company continued.
But thoughts and prayers are not enough. We have to help solve the problem that’s in front of us. Gun violence is an epidemic that’s taking the lives of too many people, including the brightest hope for the future of America – our kids. https://t.co/J4OcB6XJnu pic.twitter.com/6VoKwJe8tH
— DICK’S Sporting Goods (@DICKS) February 28, 2018
The company vowed to keep kids safer, starting today with its new commitments.
“We hope others join us in this effort to let our kids know that their pleas are being taken seriously,” the company said. “Some will say these steps can’t guarantee tragedies like Parkland will never happen again. They may be correct – but if common sense reform is enacted and even one life is saved, it will have been worth it.”
At the same time, we implore our elected officials to enact common sense gun reform and pass the following regulations: https://t.co/J4OcB6XJnu pic.twitter.com/VUuFKkyk6c
— DICK’S Sporting Goods (@DICKS) February 28, 2018
A 19-year-old former student of the Parkland school, Nikolas Cruz, is accused of killing 17 people after he opened fire with an AR-15 assault rifle inside the school on Valentine’s Day.
Cruz had legally acquired the firearm, as well as others – including a shotgun from Dick’s Sporting Goods, the company acknowledged – but Cruz was also a troubled young man who is suspected of having mental health issues.
Since the Florida shooting, as well as after the Las Vegas massacre this past October when a shooter opened fire on a country music festival and killed 58 people, the gun control debate has been heated one across the country.
This month, President Donald Trump directed the Justice Department and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to propose regulations that would ban bump stocks and “all devices” like the bump stock – or the President would craft the regulations himself, he said more recently.
A bump stock is an accessory that can be used to make a semiautomatic weapon fire like an automatic weapon, meaning a shooter could fire several rounds in one second, as the bump stock utilizes a gun’s natural recoil.
While Cruz did not use a bump stock device, the Las Vegas shooter did.
